In-depth coverage and analysis of the weekend's box office totals from einsiders.com.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Weekend Preview: Feb. 15-7, 2008

A mixture of beginning of the year studio unloads and moderately large budget flicks collide this President's Day weekend, led by Paramount's children's fantasy book adaptation The Spiderwick Chronicles in 3,847 theaters, and Fox's action-thriller Jumper in 3,428 theaters. BV's sequel Step Up 2 the Streets comes out Thursday (with Jumper) in 2,470 theaters, while Universal's Definitely, Maybe releases in 2,204 theaters.

Given the huge failure of New Line's mega-budgeted The Golden Compass, it's hard to tell if the modest popularity of the books will help catch moviegoer attention in an otherwise oversaturated children's fantasy genre. Critics have been largely positive for the Mark Waters directed pic, while critics have panned Fox's seemingly critic-proof Jumper. Expect the long weekend to benefit Spiderwick with a $25-30 million four-day weekend tally.